CMS Pub. 100-04, ch. 24, § 40.2.4.7.2

Once a provider has determined its own goals and requirements, it must begin the vendor

selection process. Selecting a vendor must be as objective and quantitative as possible.

Areas to be evaluated should include technical functionality, flexibility, and customer

service. The following steps may be used as guidelines for providers to start the vendor

selection process:

1. Develop a list of potential vendors:

• Ask the Medicare A/B MACs and CEDI for a list of approved vendors;

• Ask other providers of comparable size/specialties what vendors they use for what

services and how satisfied they are;

• Ask a consultant;

• Attend standards conferences, follow trade magazines and investigate Web pages.

2. Call or write the vendors selected/recommended to discuss the organization’s needs

and request a proposal.

3. Tell the vendors how the proposals should be structured so that the various proposals

can be more easily compared.

4. Attend demonstrations of at least two to three vendors and pay close attention to:

• How individual requirements will be met;

• Ease of understanding;

• Ease of features - data entry, search features, editing/compliance checking

features, help features, error correction features;

• Security - disaster recovery plans, controls, and audits;

• Daily Procedures;

• Reporting/Tracking features.

5. Check vendor references and ask specific questions such as:

• How long has the business been in operation?

• How long has the system been in place?

• What is the quality of the training and ongoing support?

• Is there a user’s group in place?

• What formats are supported?

6. Check with providers served by the vendor and ask specific questions such as:

• Have you experienced any problems with the system?

• Have you experienced any problems with the vendor?

• How long did it take to get up and running?

• Are you happy with the system/vendor and would you recommend it/them today?

• Is there anything else I should know or ask before making my decision?

Make site visits to the vendor as well as other clients of similar size and bill mix that have

been running the system for some time.